Colombia and UN refugee agency to sign deal to protect land rights of displaced

romy says on Apr 8, 2008, 18:26:

Very important agreement, hopefully this will be enough to stop the stealing of land from these people.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Apr 8, 2008, 18:29:

more on this important announcement

Colombia: Agreement to protect the property rights of displaced (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SHIG-7DHFEK?OpenDocument)

This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today's Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva.

A new agreement between UNHCR and the Colombian government to promote land protection and restitution of property rights marks a positive development for Colombia's displaced population.

The agreement is to be signed later today in the Colombian capital Bogotá by the Agriculture Minister, Andres Felipe Arias and the UNHCR Representative Jean-Noel Wetterwald. It will provide a framework for coordination of various programmes already in place to legally protect abandoned lands and plans new initiatives to restore the property rights of people who have lost lands through forced displacement, providing them with a greater chance at socio-economic stability.

According to official figures from the state agency monitoring government compliance with national laws (Procuraduría General de la Nación), displaced people fleeing from armed conflict and violence have lost an estimated 6 million hectares of land. This represents around 6 percent of Colombia's total national territory. Until now, very few displaced people have received compensation for their loss.

Of the 2.4 million people on the national registry for displaced people, more than three-quarters (78 percent) come from rural areas and used to make a living from the land. As well as violating their rights to property, the loss of land has meant many no longer have a productive income. The majority have found refuge in urban areas, often in very deprived neighbourhoods, and experience great difficulties getting into the workforce.

This new agreement promotes an integral approach to land issues, starting from prevention with land registration in communities at risk of displacement - a crucial step since many Colombian farmers do not have legal titles to the lands they own, making it if far more difficult to claim them back after displacement. Other steps include the legal protection of abandoned lands so that they cannot be sold or otherwise disposed of, and sets up mechanisms to facilitate the distribution of lands to displaced people who have lost properties.

Welcome the commitment this new agreement demonstrates on the part of the Colombian authorities to address one of the most fundamental issues for internally displaced Colombians. It will fully cooperate with the government, civil society and the displaced population to identify the best possible ways to ensure restitution of lands and properties to the victims.

UNHCR has been working in Colombia for the past ten years to support the government's efforts on behalf of one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world. Among other initiatives, it supports the Tierras (Land) project, which in the past four years has already registered and legally protected more than 2 million hectares of land belonging to displaced people or communities at high risk of forced displacement.

For further information on this topic please contact Marie Helene Verney in Bogotá, Colombia on 57 165 80 600 (office) or 57 312 457 2804 (mobile)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

DodgerDogs says on Apr 8, 2008, 21:17:

Romy: That is very good news, thanx for posting it.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

0 funny, 0 helpful.

adrimm says on Apr 8, 2008, 23:03:

Agreed, thank you.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Apr 8, 2008, 23:46:

Quote: Very important agreement, hopefully this will be enough to stop the stealing of land from these people.

(As much as six million hectares of land have been lost by those people, and very few receiving any compensation)

Hummm, almost 15 Million acres? Really? Stolen? a chunk of land LARGER than Switzerland?

How many of these people had some kind of title or claim to the land?

How many were displaced because the ranchers and farmers on the lands where they lived were forced to move?

It is common for owners of large farms and ranches to establish a small town where the workers and their families live. Sometimes/often (???) these people are given small lots where they build houses but if the owner,, leaves (escapes) these folks will have no work.

This is such a huge number that it is almost like,, hey,, I lived on a farm,,, and it was counted as theirs????

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Apr 9, 2008, 03:44:

Excellent news.
Yes, poco I believe in those figures. The paras in co-operation with oil palm growers in Chocó alone have forcibly occupied huge streches of land that the campesinos held titles to. Also the guerrilla has displaced lots of campesinos. I think Uribe and his much-critiziced Minister of Agriculture are just waiting for the TLC to happen and see it unnecessary to grow any food inthe country. I'm glad something is done about this. A healthy. vital. small-farmer-owned countryside is the backbone of a country.

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Apr 9, 2008, 11:50:

UNHCR and Colombia sign accord to protect land rights of displaced (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SHES-7DJNBC?OpenDocument)

BOGOT�, Colombia, April 9 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency and the Colombian government have signed an agreement that could protect or restore the land rights of hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

The accord was signed Tuesday in Bogotá by UNHCR Representative in Colombia Jean-Noel Wetterwald and Colombia's Agriculture Minister Andres Felipe Arias. The pact was given further weight by the attendance of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at the signing ceremony.

"The agreement provides a framework for the coordination of various projects already in place for the legal protection of abandoned lands and also plans for new initiatives to restore displaced people's property rights," explained Jean-Noel Wetterwald, UNHCR's representative in Colombia.

He welcomed the accord, which addresses one of the core issues of concern to the 2.4 million Colombians on the national registry for internally displaced people (IDP). They have lost an estimated 6 million hectares of land – equivalent to 6 percent of Colombian territory – in their flight from armed conflict and violence.

But very few have received compensation for their loss. Some 78 percent of these 2.4 million registered IDPs come from rural areas, where most worked the land. Loss of their fields has meant loss of their livelihood.

The majority now live in urban areas, often in very deprived neighbourhoods, and experience great difficulties finding employment. According to a recent United Nations study, around three-quarters of IDPs in Colombia live below the poverty line.

"All my life I worked on the farm and was able to feed my five children," said Marco, who fled his rural smallholding last December and escaped to the town of San Jose de Guaviare in south-east Colombia. "Here I feel useless, everything we eat we have to pay for and I can only find a day's work now and then."

Marco and his family live under plastic sheeting and a zinc roof in a rundown neighbourhood of the riverside town. There are no sanitation facilities and no running water. Losing his land and not knowing what has happened to his farm and livestock is the worst thing that ever befell Marco. He would like to go back but his wife is scared and won't let him.

Marco's only consolation is that when he fled his farm he also took a copy of his land titles, which he now hopes to register through the Tierras Project. In the past four years, this UNHCR-backed programme has registered more than 2 million hectares of land belonging to displaced people or to communities identified as being at high risk of forced displacement.

Once registered, the land is frozen, meaning that it cannot be sold without the approval of its rightful owner. Local authorities can also freeze land in an entire village if they believe that an escalation in fighting puts its population under imminent threat of displacement.

The new agreement seeks to bolster and coordinate such initiatives for the legal protection of IDP property rights. Other projects will focus on restoring productive lands to displaced people who lost properties during their flight. Tuesday's accord provides hope for greater social economic stability, as well as restoration of violated rights to displaced families in Colombia.

Wetterwald said UNHCR would fully cooperate with the government, civil society and the displaced population to identify the best possible ways to ensure restitution of lands and property to IDPs.

Marie-Hélène Verney
In Bogotá, Colombia

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Apr 10, 2008, 17:41:

"Bird's Eye View of a Refugee's World"

As people here might have noticed by my posts I have certain interests towards the wellbeing of refugges (and IDPs).
Anyways, here's a link to the hot new feature from google earth to see some of the issues from a geographic perspective. Colombia is in there too.

http://www.unhcr.org/events/47f48dc92.html

0 funny, 0 helpful.

juancegomez says on Apr 11, 2008, 10:17:

I have been somewhat busy lately, so can't really comment much right now, but thanks for posting this and other articles, romy.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Apr 14, 2008, 16:33:

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Apr 17, 2008, 18:50:

4 million Internally Displaced in Colombia according to NRC numbers(2nd highest)- Norwegian Refugee Council and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees blame the government

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/specials/newsid_7353000/7353561.stm
Cuatro millones de desplazados internos

Colombia es el segundo país en el mundo con mayor número de desplazados internos, según un estudio patrocinado por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas.

Según el informe anual realizado por el Consejo Noruego para los Refugiados (CNR), más de 26 millones de personas fueron desplazadas de sus hogares dentro de sus propios países en todo el mundo.

Esta es la cifra más alta desde 1993, año en el que los conflictos de desmembramiento de la ex Yugoslavia y la ex Unión Soviética generaron un número récord de desplazados.

Los conflictos armados, los desastres naturales y la falta de alimentos son las principales razones que provocan el movimiento obligado de personas.

Número en aumento
En 2007 los tres países más afectados por esta situación fueron Sudán, con 5,8 millones; Colombia, con cerca de 4 millones; e Irak, con 2,5 millones de personas.

De un total de 52 naciones con conflictos, los tres países sumaron casi el 50% de número de desplazados.

Aparte de Colombia, tres otros países de América Latina son mencionados en el informe. Perú, con 150.000 desplazados internos; México con 5.500; y Guatemala, con una cantidad indeterminada.

Sin embargo, de las cuatro naciones, sólo se señala a Colombia como un país en donde el número de desplazados se mantiene en aumento.

Crítica a los gobiernos
El corresponsal de la BBC en Ginebra, Imogen Foulkes, señaló que el CNR critica en su informe a los gobiernos, argumentando que son los responsables del bienestar de sus ciudadanos.

"Muchos gobiernos nacionales en 2007 no tenían la voluntad o fueron incapaces de evitar que se obligue a ciudadanos a abandonar sus casas", dijo la secretaria general del CNR, Elisabeth Rasmusson.

Asimismo, el Alto Comisionado de Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados (ACNUR), Antonio Guterres, dijo al presentar el informe que los desplazados internos tenían que enfrentar la "reticencia o incapacidad" de algunos gobiernos para proporcionarles protección y asistencia.

La CNR hizo un llamado para que se realicen los esfuerzos diplomáticos de la comunidad internacional para desarrollar programas de ayuda a los desplazados internos.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Apr 17, 2008, 19:59:

http://www.elpasotimes.com/spanish/ci_8962828
Colombia suspende entrega de tierras a desplazados
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 04/17/2008 05:44:51 PM MDT

BOGOTA—El ministro de Agricultura, Andrés Felipe Arias, anunció el jueves la suspensión temporal de la entrega a desplazados de tierras provenientes de decomisos a paramilitares desmovilizados y reinsertados.

Arias dijo a reporteros que la decisión fue tomada por su despacho después que un fallo judicial revocara la semana pasada la expropiación de una finca, cuyas tierras habían sido otorgadas por el gobierno a 47 familias. Con el fallo, las familias tendrán que evacuar la hacienda, dijo Arias.

El ministro dijo que el gobierno apelará ese fallo judicial y que cuando exista una sentencia definitiva y un precedente legal que no se volverán a revocar expropiaciones, entonces el gobierno reanudará la asignación de tierras.

"Se ha creado un precedente en los últimos días cuando fallos de tutela (o judiciales) llevaron a la revocatoria de un proceso de extinción del dominio (expropiación), de una finca que le habíamos entregado a 47 familias", dijo Arias.

Explicó que el fallo judicial se presentó en una región del litoral Atlántico luego que un presunto testaferro, al que el gobierno le había expropiado las tierras, alegó en el proceso de retiro de propiedad se violaron normas legales.

"Por eso el gobierno está obligado a sacar a estas familias campesinas de esta finca. Ese genera una inestabilidad jurídica enorme", precisó el funcionario, sin detallar las dimensiones de la finca que estaba asignada a esas familias.

Desde agosto de 2002 hasta diciembre de 2007 el gobierno colombiano ha entregado más de 120.000 hectáreas de tierra a cerca de 8.500 familias desplazadas por la violencia.

Pero otras miles aún esperan por recibir lotes.

Arias también denunció que la inteligencia militar detectó que algunos combatientes ilegales, que ingresaron al programa de reinserción a la vida civil, han vendido tierras de nuevo a mafiosos o delincuentes organizados. "Eso no es aceptable. Eso no se tolera", indicó el ministro.

Aseguró que las 47 familias tendrán que abandonar la finca y regresar a su condición de desplazados. "Tendremos que buscar un predio para llevarlos y en este momento no lo tenemos. Tendremos que resolverlo porque no podemos dejar 47 familias a la deriva", puntualizó el ministro.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Apr 19, 2008, 07:47:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/19/content_8007765.htm
UNHCR calls on Colombia to return land to displaced people
www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-19 10:40:04

BOGOTA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Friday called on the Colombian government to resume the process of returning land to displaced people.

UNHCR's representative in Colombia Gustavo Valdivieso told reporters that the UNHCR understood why the country suspended the devolution process, but urged the government to identify land to be confiscated from the armed groups and give it to the displaced.

"We hope the land can be identified and handed over to as many displaced people as possible," said Valdivieso.

Meanwhile, Colombia's Agriculture Minister Andres Arias said the United Self-Defense (AUC), a paramilitary group, must return the land it took from indigenous people in rural areas.

The AUC paramilitaries had only pretended to return the land but the assets actually still belonged to them, said Arias.

Valdivieso said at least 6 million hectares in Colombia were occupied by paramilitaries, forcing inhabitants to abandon them or sell them at low prices.

Colombia has the second largest number of displaced people following Sudan, recent United Nations reports have shown.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Apr 20, 2008, 23:22:

Desi Quote: The paras in co-operation with oil palm growers in Chocó alone have forcibly occupied huge streches of land that the campesinos held titles to.
===========
Let’s assume ALL the land in Choco Department was stolen,, every last square inch. Cities, towns, roads,, beach front,,hotels, huts,, etc.

Choco Territory is 46,530 KM2 and I believe it is the SECOND LARGEST department in Colombia in the western half of the country. The Eastern is mostly jungle w/o interconnecting roads.

The TOTAL area of Choco department is 46,530 KM2 = 4,653,000 hectares.

WHAT,, someone stole the TOTAL territory,,, PLUS another MILLION AND A HALF Hectares?

Confused about the size of hectares??? Maybe this will help.

Choco total acres 11 497 813,,
Then someone stole: 14,826,000 acres (Humm,, Damn,, stole the entire department and I guess,, stole another 3,335,384 acres somewhere else)?

Someone needs to explain this.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Apr 29, 2008, 18:33:

I see NO ONE has much in the way of explanation for where the land was stolen and from who...

So,,, what really happens in Choco Department? Does ANYONE think a bunch of african/Colombians own much of anything except their little house on a quarter acre or so plot?

Please offer an explanation as to where a group of X-Slaves got the money to purchase a LOT OF LAND?

It appears to me that the blacks in Choco might be trying to STEAL land from the rightful owners?

Am I wrong,,,, 15 Million STOLEN Acres??? Who was the owner? Explain this,,,,

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Apr 29, 2008, 21:43:

Poco, I posted a couple of videos explaining the Choco land deal in a thread "Price of the Land". Of course, that's just one small part of the total; there's something very similar going on in other parts of Colombia, in los llanos, in Cauca etc.

I have made no claims to know the total area of the land taken from their rightful owners, either by stealing, intimidation, murder, forced sales or just scaring away the peasants.

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/price-of-the-land/

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Apr 29, 2008, 22:17:

Hi Desi:

I totally agree,, you do not seem to know much about the land ownership in Choco Territory.

Lucky for you,, I do,, The girl I'm with and her husband worked in a relatively small rural town in Choco about 1990/91. They did business with the natives,, natives,, mostly, black who worked the Emerald mines.

These black natives and most of the campesinos,, if not all,, were poor,, poor,, poor. She was poor and these Choco natives were,,, it's hard to imagine,, even poorer.

She doesn't recall these folks owning ANYTHING,, let alone property.

The property owners were ABSENTEE,, yes,, 18 years ago,, or more,, the owners DID NOT live in Choco. Just for general information,,, these owners were being kidnapped, killed and generally it was not safe for them to stay there.

So,, the owners of the property LET THEM STAY on the land,, in many cases,, if not all,, the owners furnished a,,, OK,, a house is too kind of a word,, a shack,, w/o sanitation.

Then,, and I'll be checking on this,,, the FARC / Paramilitary had the typical war crap,, and of course these tenants,, what to call them,, squatters,, had to leave,, yep,, that or probably be killed.

I will have more to say about this,, plus,, I intend to make a trip to Choco or a a miminum send a family member to make a survey,, my only problem is why to tell him I need some general information,, plus,, another family member is with the police and is assigned to the Choco area.

You can post tear jerker films,, full of sad tales,, but, if a person knows the facts,, the films are full of, ridiclous concoctions about WHO owned the land and WHY these blacks, natives,, ie: Colombians were not living there anymore.

I've posted this before and I'll say it again,,, what is wrong with trying to develop resources to employ people who have ZERO skills..

Desi: ISN'T THIS ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS:

The people need something to replace the drug trade,, OK,, it's being done,, right now.

HONESTLY,,, a crop that encompasses a lot of territory,, territory that will need to be protected,, protection the poor people need,, jobs they need,, commerce they need,, a huge list,,,

AND YOUR ARE AGAINST IT ????

WHY?

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Apr 30, 2008, 09:06:

Desi: ISN'T THIS ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS:

"The people need something to replace the drug trade,, OK,, it's being done,, right now.

HONESTLY,,, a crop that encompasses a lot of territory,, territory that will need to be protected,, protection the poor people need,, jobs they need,, commerce they need,, a huge list,,,

AND YOUR ARE AGAINST IT ????

WHY?"

Why? We're talking about black communities in Chocó and Urabá, community-owned land, land with private titles, paramilitaries and the monster of a single-crop plantation economy. We're talking about the failed intent of agrarian reform in Colombia back in the sixties, thre right of an individual, however poor, to live off the land that he owns, without fearing for his life or for his children's lives.

Yes, I'm against paramilitaries massacring peasants at the orders of palm growers, single-crop cultivation, plantation economy, oligarchies, corruption and corporation rule.

Silly me!

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Apr 30, 2008, 09:08:

Oh, I forgot to say that I also hate palm oil that's full of cholesterol and clogs your arteries and takes you in an early grave....while making some bastards rich at the same time. It's FLUID POISON.

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Apr 30, 2008, 11:05:

http://www.survival-international.org/news/3279
Biofuels threaten lands of 60 million tribal people
30 April 2008

Demand for biofuels is destroying tribal peoples’ land and lives, according to indigenous representatives at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), meeting currently in New York.

A report presented to the UNPFII refers to ‘increasing human rights violations, displacements and conflicts due to expropriation of ancestral lands and forests for biofuel plantations.’ One of the report’s authors, UNPFII chairperson Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, has said that if biofuels expansion continues as planned, 60 million indigenous people worldwide are threatened with losing their land and livelihoods.

Palm oil is one of the most destructive crops used for biofuels. Millions of indigenous people in Malaysia have already been affected by palm oil plantations, and millions more in Indonesia, where over 6 million hectares of oil palm have been planted, mostly on indigenous territory. In Colombia, thousands of families, many of them indigenous, have been violently evicted from their land because of palm oil plantations and other crops.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Colombia all plan to expand their palm oil plantations. Indonesia has announced plans for plantations in Borneo, projected to displace up to 5 million indigenous people, and 5 million hectares, much of it indigenous land, has been set aside for palm oil in Papua. Colombia is planning 6.3 million hectares of plantations, which could affect more than 100 indigenous communities.

‘If the government take our land, what will we have left?’ an indigenous Papuan leader said in an interview with Survival. ‘If there is a plantation, our land will be destroyed.’

Other crops for biofuels include sugar cane, soy, corn, manioc and jatropha, a plant native to Central America. The Guarani in Brazil have lost much of their land to sugar cane cultivation, while the government in India is targeting 13.5 million hectares of what it calls ‘wasteland’, much of which is actually indigenous land.

Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘The biofuels boom doesn’t just have consequences for the environment, global food prices or orang-utans – it’s having a devastating effect on tribal people too. The companies feverishly promoting this industry have been perfectly willing to push aside tribal people in their hunger for land.’

0 funny, 0 helpful.

slguy says on Apr 30, 2008, 12:14:

i, for one, am fascinated by this thread.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

0 funny, 0 helpful.

slguy says on Apr 30, 2008, 12:25:

"....while making some bastards rich at the same time"

so, palm oil plantation owners are bastards?

who's next?

why not the coca-growing campesinos? ahhhhhh..apparently it's the "rich" part that makes them bastards.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Apr 30, 2008, 12:38:

No, it's the paramilitary-hiring-part that makes them bastards. It's ok to have money, but not to murder whole families to make it.

We're talking about YUCA-growing campesinos. Not coca.

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

slguy says on Apr 30, 2008, 13:42:

des, you spoke terribly about palm oil growers.."Oh, I forgot to say that I also hate palm oil that's full of cholesterol and clogs your arteries and takes you in an early grave....while making some bastards rich at the same time. It's FLUID POISON."

why not talk equally badly about campesino coca growers, whose crops are far more poisonous -- they just aren't rich?

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Apr 30, 2008, 13:50:

I've got nothing against rich people...wish I was one of them, but mind you, money made in a highly ethical manner!

I'm not talking about the campesino who has little choice.. and yet, the peasants of Chocó grow mainly yuca and platano. You don't have a case, slguy.

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

slguy says on Apr 30, 2008, 14:16:

ok

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

0 funny, 0 helpful.